This undated file photo shows a two-ton eVTOL aircraft. The aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight between Shenzhen and Zhuhai in the first quarter of this year. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
From air taxis, drone deliveries of food and parcels, to pesticide irrigation, the use of drones is gaining momentum in Shenzhen as the low-altitude economy takes off.
Shenzhen’s municipal transportation authority said the number of cargo drone flights in the city had exceeded 600,000 last year, taking the top spot in the country in terms of scale.
A total of 77 new drone routes were opened last year, and 73 new drone take-off and landing points were set up.
According to Meituan - one of the largest food-delivery platforms on the Chinese mainland that started drone deliveries in Shenzhen in 2021 - it has secured more than 210,000 drone user orders so far. The company had opened 22 routes in eight districts in the city by November last year, covering residential communities, office buildings, scenic areas, hospitals and university campuses.
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Drone transportation between Shenzhen and Zhuhai may not be that far-off. Autoflight - an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developer - will make the maiden flight of its two-ton eVTOL aircraft on the world's first regular eVTOL cross-sea and cross-city route between Shenzhen and Zhuhai in the first quarter of this year. The flight will cut the duration of a one-way trip by car from three-and-a-half hours to 20 minutes.
In this undated file photo, a drone delivers food supplies in Shenzhen. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The application of drones is one of the pillars of the low-altitude economy, which refers to airspace within a vertical height of 1,000 meters from the ground, and extending up to 3,000 meters, based on local actual needs.
The Shenzhen municipal government has been urging more enterprises to jump on the bandwagon with various supporting measures, with incentives being offered for each new low-altitude logistics distribution route.
READ MORE: Shenzhen pilot program regulates drones
Shenzhen introduced the country’s first legislation on the low-altitude economy in January this year, giving the sector another boost in terms of infrastructure, flight services, industrial applications, technological innovation and safety management.
